Median home price holds steady in November

San Diego County home prices held steady at a median $325,000 for the fourth straight month in November, MDA DataQuick reported Monday — the latest evidence the local housing market is stabilizing from its precipitous drop in the last four years.

There were 3,148 sales, down from 3,671 in the usual seasonal falloff, and up 17.8 percent from year-ago levels when the financial meltdown was dominating the news.

The median price for resale single-family houses stood at $365,000, up $5,000 from October and nearly back to September’s $365,500. The median in November 2008 was $335,000.

The median price for resale condos rose to $225,000 from $210,000 in October and $204,000 a year ago. There 963 sales, down from 1,094 in October but up from 780 sales or 23.5 percent from year-ago levels.

The median for newly built homes and condos, including conversions, was $331,000, down 17.5 percent from October and off 35 percent from November 2008’s $509,000. Last seen at this level in January 2001, the latest median may reflect the decision by new-condo developers and condo converters to slash prices to clear their inventory. There were 374 new-home and condo-conversion sales last month, up from 370 in October and 262 in November 2009.

While distressed property sales have acted as a depressant on overall prices, DataQuick said only 32.6 percent of all resales involved properties that had gone through foreclosure in the previous 12 months. That’s down from 34.5 percent in October and the lowest percentage since December 2007.